Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum (上海犹太难民纪念馆)
Museum · Hongkou · Shanghai. A 1927 synagogue telling how Shanghai sheltered Jewish refugees in WWII.
Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/shanghai-jewish-refugees-museum · Data checked 2026-10-02 · Rendered for 2026-10-03 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.
Notices in effect
- 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-07: Open every day 1–7 October 2026, including Monday 5 October.
- 2026-10-03 to 2026-10-03: 13:45 check-in at the visitor centre for the 14:00–15:30 Chinese-language Tilanqiao walk; museum ticket and QR registration required. In extreme weather, the outdoor walk moves indoors.
- 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-07: Post three photos of the museum with #上海犹太难民纪念馆 on Xiaohongshu, Douyin or Dianping to get a free Tilanqiao heritage map at the shop.
Why go
In the 1930s and 1940s Shanghai took in about 20,000 Jewish refugees from Europe, and many lived in the Tilanqiao area of Hongkou. This museum in the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue (摩西会堂) tells their stories through passports, letters, photos and a wall of names. It is small, has an English-language website, and is one of the most moving visits in the city.
What to do
- Step into the Ohel Moshe Synagogue. The synagogue building dates from 1927 and served Shanghai's Ashkenazi Jewish community. It reopened inside the museum in 2025 after restoration.
- Read the refugees' objects. Small rooms off brick corridors show passports, visas, ocean-liner tickets, school reports, menus, prayer books and Chinese-language ketubahs (marriage contracts) from refugee families.
- Find a name on the wall. The Refugees Wall of Names lists 18,578 people in gold lettering; families still come to find relatives.
- Walk the old ghetto streets. Outside, Huoshan Road and Zhoushan Road kept the 'Little Vienna' shops of the refugee years, and Huoshan Park has a memorial stone for the 1943 restricted sector.
- Don't miss: The memorial stone in Huoshan Park (霍山公园), a few minutes' walk away, marking the 'designated area for stateless refugees'.
- Best time: Weekday morning; join the 10:00 talk
- Skip if: Skip it if you have under an hour; the story needs time to read.
Practical details
- Hours: 09:00–17:00 · closed Mon
- Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 09:00–17:00, last entry 16:00
- Usually closed: Mon
- Holiday opening is announced separately before each public holiday.
- Admission: Ticketed · ¥20 adult
- Adult: ¥20
- Concession: Full-time students aged 23 and under (undergraduate or below) ¥10 (Valid ID)
- Concession: Seniors aged 60+ ¥15 (Valid ID)
- Free: Children 1.3 m and under (With an adult; up to two free children per adult)
- Free: People with disabilities; active military, police, firefighters (Valid certificate; collect at the ticket window)
- Booking: No booking; real-name ticket with passport
- Museum ticket window (纪念馆票务窗口) · passport: yes
- Meituan, Dianping or Ctrip (美团、大众点评、携程) — Search 上海犹太难民纪念馆 in 美团、大众点评或携程; foreign-document checkout on these platforms is unconfirmed.
- Passport accepted: yes — English visitor page: 'Registration of valid ID (Passport) is required.'
- For paid group-guide services, groups of 20+ should call 021-55133186 three to five working days ahead.
- Last admission: 16:00
- Time to allow: 1–2 hr
- Getting there: Line 12 · Tilanqiao · Exit 1
- Metro Line 12 to Tilanqiao (提篮桥), Exit 1, about 5 min walk
- Show a taxi driver: 上海犹太难民纪念馆，虹口区长阳路62号
- Map: Apple Maps · Amap 高德
- A 2020 local guide instead says Exit 2, then about 100 m east along Changyang Road.
- Parking nearby is limited; the museum suggests public transport.
- Address: 62 Changyang Road, Hongkou district (长阳路62号).
- Foreign visitors: Passport registration; English services unconfirmed
Not found yet
- foreignVisitors.english.signage.value: English labels inside the museum were not established; a magazine report refers to a monument in Huoshan Park. (searched: official museum visitor guide, Moment Magazine article)
- foreignVisitors.english.tours.value: The external route lists an English webpage but no guiding language. (searched: museum heritage tour page, museum visitor guide)
Traveler tips
- Bring your passport to buy the ticket. The museum sells real-name tickets: you register a valid ID when buying, and the English visitor page says this means your passport. Go to the ticket window at 62 Changyang Road; adults pay ¥20. Free-entry visitors (children 1.3 m and under, people with disabilities) also collect a free ticket at the window. source
- Students and over-60s pay less. Full-time students aged 23 or under (up to undergraduate level) pay ¥10, and visitors aged 60 or over pay ¥15, with valid ID. Each adult can bring up to two children 1.3 m tall or under for free. Have the ID ready at the window, as the discount is checked there. source
- Ask about a Jewish-heritage tour. The Shanghai Sino-Jewish Center lists a half-day tour (09:00–13:00) and a full-day tour (09:00–15:00) of Jewish Shanghai. Both pick up at the hotel lobby, then visit the Ohel Moshe Synagogue and walk the former Hongkou ghetto; they continue past the Peace Hotel (Sassoon House) and the Marble Hall of Elie Kadoorie. Email tour@ssjc.org.cn to ask about the language, price and availability before your visit. Caveat: This is an external city itinerary, not the museum's free timed talk; guiding language and price are not stated. source
- Free talks at 10:00 and 14:00 are in Chinese. On normal open days the museum runs free timed talks at 10:00 and 14:00, in Chinese; times can shift on busy days, so phone 021-55133186 if you plan around them. For your own pace, rent an audio guide for ¥10 at the entrance. Caveat: Audio-guide languages are not listed. source
- Open all of National Day week. From 1 to 7 October 2026 the museum opens every day 09:00–17:00, including Monday 5 October, with ticket sales and entry ending at 16:00. You can buy ahead on Meituan, Dianping or Ctrip. source
- Join the 3 October Tilanqiao walk. On Saturday 3 October 2026, meet at the visitor centre at 13:45 for a 14:00–15:30 Chinese-language guided walk of the Tilanqiao area. Buy a museum ticket and register through the QR code in the official notice before going; places are limited. Caveat: In heavy rain, high heat or other extreme weather, the outdoor walk moves indoors; follow staff directions. source
- Leave bags and suitcases free. The museum has free self-service lockers and a staffed desk for large luggage, so you can come straight from a hotel check-out. Wheelchairs are lent free after you register an ID. There is also a first-aid kit and a lost-and-found at the front desk. source
- Take Line 12 to Tilanqiao. Take Metro Line 12 to Tilanqiao (提篮桥) and use Exit 1, which the museum lists for visitors. Walk to the museum on Changyang Road (长阳路); parking nearby is limited. source
- Continue to Huoshan Park and 'Little Vienna'. After the museum, walk the surrounding streets. Huoshan Road (霍山路) and Zhoushan Road (舟山路) kept the 'Little Vienna' shopfronts where refugees ran cafés and shops, and Huoshan Park (霍山公园) has a memorial stone for the 1943 'designated area for stateless refugees'. The White Horse Café building stands opposite the museum on Changyang Road. source
- No flash, tripods or selfie sticks. Inside the exhibition you may not use flash, selfie sticks or tripods, and filming or livestreaming needs permission. Some rooms ban photography altogether; look for the signs at each doorway. Opened food and drinks must stay out of the galleries. source
Sources
- Shanghai Municipal Government
- Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
- 上海犹太难民纪念馆
- Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
- Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
- 上海犹太难民纪念馆 (published 2026-09-28)
- Moment Magazine (Carlin Romano) (published 2026-02-05)
- 澎湃新闻 (published 2020-05-28)
- 上海本地宝 (published 2020-12-08)
- 上海发布 / Shanghai Municipal Government (published 2026-09-28)
- 上海市公安局 (published 2026-09-30)